The Meeting

=Dormii didn't say a word, so I decided to continue=

Look, I know it's a lot to ask: walking into what most likely is a trap. But to be honest, you guys more or less owe me. I helped out when you were fighting the flood, not to mention I nearly got my ass handed to me by a god damn flood troll. Granted, that's not a very large list. If you don't want to come along, then feel free to leave, and I'll go alone.

=i chuckle=
Are you kidding? That's more than enough reasons. I'm coming with. Just need to get some of my weapons and I'm all set.

=I nodded=

Okay, I'll get the ship set. We'll leave in a bit.

=Dormii left the ship, and Miri chose that moment to walk over=

Well, we didn't get an army.

=I chuckle=

You haven't seen him in action. Trust me, he's more than enough.

=i get up=
I'll be back in a few minutes.

=i leave the ship and head to my room for my arma and my rifle=

=I called Argo=

Argo, when Dormii gets back aboard, wait one minute, then un-dock, and get us to Therum.

@ Jason- aye aye, captain.

=i put my arma in their usual spots, the spear-flail on my back, the knife-ring hooked on my right wrist, the hook-cable-blade wrapped around my right arm, the mace-flails on my left hip, the forearm plate on my left forearm, and my rifle in my hands. i run a check of my armor's systems and head out. i pass a mirror as i walk out=

Damn, I really look like War...

=i head back onto Jason ship=

=I saw Dormii in his armor, and was mildy impressed=

Nice armor, but you won't need to wear it yet. =I motion to the communication's chair= strap in, we'll be leaving in a few seconds.

=i go over and take the spear off and set it next to the chair. i take my helmet off, sit down and strap in=
Meh, too much hassle to take all of it off. Plus, easiest way to carry armor is to wear it.

=I chuckle a little. The ship begins to move, already undocked=

Oh, by the way, on the way over to where we're going, I'll give you a short brief on my old teammates...... well, the ones that are alive anyway.

Think they my give us some trouble?

I think that at least one of them will be there, and believe me, just one is bad enough. The majority of my team was selected from the more...... violent, bloodthirsty, psychotic kids. And before you ask, I'm was the only stable one because that made for a better leader.

=sarcastically=
Oh sounds great. Specialties?

=I brought up my old teams bios on the main screen=

Leo. He was my second in command. He was skilled in electronics, explosives, and anything that could fire a bullet.

=I brought up Charles=

Charles, or "Chuck" as he preferred. He was my heavy weapons specialist. Mostly chainguns, rocket launchers, and he was the strongest of us.

=I brought up Kate=

And last but not least, Kate. Kate is........ a nightmare. Out of all of us, she was the most bloodthirsty, psychotic member of the team. Her specialty was CQC, close range weapons, and assassinations.

=i read the bios as they come up=
So, Leo was in-and-out on the team, Chuck is massive firepower, and Kate was the evil little bitch with the knack for shiny, sharp objects. An...interesting bunch. Anything i should know about them as to how they fight? Like no holds barred, honor codes, every little bit helps...?

=I though for a moment=

Yeah there is one thing...... =I turned to face him= We were taught to fight dirty, from the shadows, and show no pity or remorse. And these guys =I motioned to the screen= They loved it. We were actually conditioned to fight. They gave us rewards, and even drugged us with narcotics when we fought harder and nastier.

=i'm silent for a moment=
In hindsight, my trainers were baby kittens compared to your trainers.

-=Bellum et Pax turns up the speakers on my helmet, sitting in my lap=
--May I say something?--

Go ahead.

--it'd be easier from the main computer--

=i look over at Jason, an eyebrow raised=

=I shrugged=

Argo, we have another A.I. looking to share space. Think you can spare some?

=Argo appeared on my screen=

@ Jason- Of course there is space. It will be cramped though. Tell him he's free to enter.

=I looked back at Dormii=

I'm sure you heard him. Your guy's free to enter the system.

--I heard. I will do my best to stay localized--

=BeP appears on the screen, both the Viking and the Woman standing side by side, both next to Argo=

--If you have any footage of them fighting, it will be easier to analyze their weaknesses if the time comes to it--

=When BeP speaks, and this unnerves me as well, both characters speak at the same time, but only one voice sounds=

=I gave the image a guilty look=

Yeah, about that...... All I have are the team bios. There were never any video recordings. At Vigil, the less documentation, the easier it was to hide what we did.

=BeP nods=
--Then I guess it will be that much harder. Do you know what their preferred weaponry was or is?--

=I thought about it, trying top remember=

Well, each had their specialties, but we were all trained to use a variety of things. Leo's a bit like me: good at just about anything, but he prefers assault rifles and shotguns. Also, he prefers armor piercing rounds. Chuck mainly uses his machine gun, and that one uses shredder rounds. In close quarters, he prefers to charge someone, and add that to his armor's speed, it turns ugly for the target. Kate was the teams assassin. She preferred to get up close and use her knives. She and I were also the top hand to hand specialists.

--Understood. I'll keep that information available if they are in the area and we engage them--

Oh, Jason, do any of them having any form of hearing loss?

=I tried to remember=

No, none of us had any form of hearing loss. Why do you ask?

=i gesture to my helmet=
I have a program on my armor label "Banshee Scream." Basically, it condenses everything that has been said through my comms into a 15 millisecond soundbite, then loops it at high frequencies. The resulting sound has been known to burst eardrums, cause unconsciousness, and general freak-you-the-hell-out. Only defense against it is deafness and audio input shutoff.

Ah. Well, I'm sure that will help. But still, for all I know, none of my old teammates will be there.

=I called up Argo=

Argo, how long before we exit the slipstream?

=Argo gained control of the screen=

We should be at our destination in around one hour. The location of our departure point was surprisingly close.

That's true, that's true. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

--Excuse me, I will get out of your way, Argo--

=BeP walks off the screen and leaves the main system, going back into my armor=

=I stood up, and turned to Dormii=

Listen, i'm heading down to the weapons room to take stock. If you want, meet me on the third deck.

=I hailed Miri=

Miri, we'll be at Therum in an hour. Get your stuff ready.

=She commed back=

@ Jason- Got it Jason. I'll be ready.

=i stand up as well=
Why don't I come with? I need to see if there are any rounds I can use for my rifle, or if I have to make my own.

=i head down to the third level with him=

=We walked onto the third deck, and I led Dormii to the weapons room=

Well, it's probably not as extensive as the weapon room on the Trophaeum, =I flick the light switch at the door, revealing the racks and boxes of weapons and grenades, and even my workbench= But I get by. Take your pick of weapons, or inspect what you need.

=i whistle=
Not bad, not bad at all.

=i go to a rack and pick up an M90=
Very nice.

=i go to an ammo crate and start looking through it=
Hmm...aha! These will work.

=I head over to one of the boxes, and pull out an M7S SMG, standard weapon for covert teams. I took the weapon over to the work bench, and got to work. I added armor piercing rounds to each magazine, recoil reduction, and was done in about four minutes. I motioned to Dormii=

Hey, if you want, feel free to modify any of the weapons in this room.

Heh, most of the modifications I make are full body or attachments. It'd take way to long to do much of anything. Although...

=i take the M90 and some shotgun shells and make a small circle around the reloading port, kinda like belt feed=
That'll work for now. I'm not one for stealth, unless you count CQC as stealthy.

=i look over at Jason=
So, how long till you think we get there?

Well, Argo says we have at least an hour, but who knows how long it actually takes in the slipstream. We might get there sooner.

=I leaned against the wall=

Mostly because, like I said, this ship was reversed engineered from Covenant tech. The stealth systems, the engines, and most importantly, the spilpspace drive.

Yeah, that's true. Let's just hope we don't come out of slipspace into a minefield. That'd be disappointing. Come all this way only to exit into a bomb.

=I let out a bark of laughter=

Yeah, given my luck, that may just happen. But I doubt it. The planet we're going to may be under UNSC control, but to the best of my knowledge, they haven't lain any minefield.

=i smile=
Well that's good.

=i look around the armory and grab a few extra shells and ammo for my rifle and my new shotgun=
I'm all set. Ready to go..what, relax?

=I shugged=

Sure. Let's head up to the mess hall, make some popcorn, and watch some movies at the holo table.

=i sweep my arm to the door=
After you, seeing as how this is your ship.

=I chuckle=

Hey no need to be so fancy. This isn't a five star cruise liner. This is....... a home.

Yeah, but it's your home. I don't want to overstep my boundaries.

=We made our way to the elevator=

I'm not asking you to overstep your boundaries. Just don't act all.......... formal.

=i relax a bit=
I'll try. Somethings just are hard to overcome.

=We got to the mess deck, and I saw Miri sitting at the table, eating a sandwich=

Hey Miri, interested in watching a movie?

=She put down the sandwich, and gave me a smile=

@ Jason- Sure, why not? Got something in mind?

=I turned to our guest=

Well, what do you want to see? =I check my watch= Whatever it is, we'll only have around...... forty minutes to watch.

=i shrug=
Anything sounds good. Never seen many movies. Although, I did watch a recruitment campaign disguised as an action movie, but that's a story for another time.

Well, listen, how about we just find something to watch on T.V.? I've got satellite, with over 20,000 channels.

=i whistle=
Sounds good.

=I turn on the holo table=

Hey, if your live in a prototype, black ops issue powler, made of both human and covenant tech....... You may as well fill it with the comforts you've always wanted.

=To my right, I heard Miri snort as she drank her water=

=i chuckle and sit down, careful not to ruin anything with my weapons=
So, what kinds of things do we have on here?

=I start flipping channels, and came to a stop at the classics channel=

"The Dark Knight?" =I turn to Dormii= Sound interesting?